Three thought-provoking shows to see this summer🪞

Reflections for Now, The Barbican Centre

American artist Carrie Mae Weems has paved the way for many of today’s practising artists. Her latest exhibition at the Barbican features photographs, films, and installations created over the span of three decades.

Reflections for Now is a cinematic and visual exploration of oppression and colonialism, showcasing Weems’s complex body of work. In From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried (1995-96) Weems interrogates reductive images of Black Americans by revisiting archives, and tinting the images with a red hue that calls attention to the inhumane nature of the original photographs.

Elsewhere, Weems reflects on the impact of the Black Panthers and other prominent civil rights activists, filling the space with powerful black-and-white portraits of Angela Davis, Fred Hampton, Malcolm X, and many more.

The retrospective also features the artist’s famous Kitchen Table Series (1990), as Weems tells a story of selfhood across a series of scenes that take place beneath a single light at a kitchen table in her home in Massachusetts. In each scene Weems adopts a new persona: mother, friend, partner, exploring her identity as a Black woman.

Reflections for Now questions the power of the gaze, and also the intention of the person behind the lens.

The show runs until September 3rd.

Lagos, Peckham, Repeat: Pilgrimage to the Lakes, South London Gallery

South London Gallery presents an exciting new group exhibition in Peckham, south east London. Peckham, also known as Little Lagos, is home to one of the largest Nigerian communities in the UK. Lagos, Peckham, Repeat celebrates the rich history and culture of the area, bringing together sculpture, sound, photography, film, and installation works by Nigerian and British-Nigerian artists including Yinka Shonibare, Ndidi Dike, Temitayo Shonibare and more.

I visited the gallery on a sunny Saturday, where I saw many locals and young families engaging with large-scale sculptures, eating fresh Nigerian food, and enjoying an array of creative workshops. Overall, the exhibition felt inviting, welcoming locals while also encouraging them to learn more about Yoruba culture.

In Entitled, London-based Nigerian artist Adeyemi Michael recreates his childhood living room, featuring cosy armchairs and popular Nigerian staple, Milo. The film depicts Michael’s mother wearing traditional attire, including a vibrant purple gele, as she travels through the streets of Peckham on horseback. She reflects on her British-Nigerian identity, highlighting the duality of the first-generation immigrant experience.

Lagos, Peckham, Repeat made me feel at home and proud to see my heritage recognised in a way that felt authentic. The artists delve deep into the connections between Lagos and Peckham, touching on issues of migration and colonialism.

The show runs until October 29th.

Third World: The Bottom Dimension, Serpentine Galleries

On view in the heart of Hyde Park, Serpentine Arts Technologies presents a futuristic exhibition that seamlessly merges the boundaries between reality and virtuality. Third World: The Bottom Dimension is an interactive exploration of the Black Brazilian experience, designed by Gabriel Massan in collaboration with artists Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro, Novíssimo Edgar, and vocalist and music producer LYZZA.

As you step into the gallery, you are transported into a cyber realm where art and gaming collide. The single-player game features breathtaking virtual landscapes as the user navigates a fictional world populated by new lifeforms and dialects. The innovative game offers a playful examination of colonial exploration. Visitors are invited to sit and play the video game in the gallery, record footage of their game as they play, and mint the record on the blockchain to build a public archive.

Third World: The Bottom Dimension challenges our understanding of reality, captivating visitors with its stunning visuals and engaging format. Through world-building and storytelling, the exhibition serves as a mirror to our own society's history of inequality. It compels visitors to confront the impact of colonialism through a digital lens, encouraging critical reflection on the pressing issues that continue to define the Black Brazilian experience.

The show runs until October 22nd.